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Surreal Experience Swimming With Sharks

As I pulled my wetsuit tight over my body, I began to feel my heart race, my palms began to sweat and it hit me like a ton of bricks, this was it, this was the moment that I would be in a tank with some of Europe’s largest sharks.

Yes, the kind of sharks that you see in the film jaws, the kind that appear on the news for eating/attacking humans and then I remembered what everybody had been telling me for the last few weeks.

‘I wouldn’t do that for love nor money’ ,’ I wont have a rubber duck in the bath with me let alone get in a tank of sharks’ and the most popular ‘Make sure you come back in one piece.’

Was I mad? I must be insane, I will be on the news tomorrow for being eaten by a shark for sure.

After a couple of moments of being a drama queen and imaging what picture they would use of me for the news the following day I realised that I was about to experience something I probably never would again. I will be swimming with sharks, no cage, no protection, just me and these magnificent creatures.

This was exciting.

Richard lowered himself into the water and shortly after I followed, before I had even fully submerged underwater a large sand shark came swimming around me with its fin gliding across the water – this was it, for sure I was going to be eaten.

But after circling me it swam off in the opposite direction leaving me with all limbs in place – Phew! When I finally reached the bottom of the tank I was blown away, the amazing fish, the huge sharks and the large corals made me feel as though I was at the bottom of the sea and my fear of being eaten, completely gone.

As I walked, well more like stumbled due to the weights that held me underwater, I made the most amazing memories and the images still remain so vivid in my head. We came across this beautiful lady fish who is a vivid purple fluorescent colour, when she’s in a good mood she likes you to pour sand on her body which luckily for me she was having a good day and when she is happy she turns white, how incredible?

As we walked around the tank the sharks would swim past within inches of us, stingrays would swarm around us, the tank was full everywhere you turn and to put it into words it was surreal. Fish every colour of the rainbow swimming all around me, coming right up to my eye mask and the occasional shark swimming towards us at lightening speed and then last minute darting in the other direction.

As the sharks swam around us I did not fear, it was more amazement at how large, beautiful and powerful sharks are although I will not deny that when one of the sharks glided above my head with full teeth on show I did think that all my worst fears had come true.

And then it was over.

Sadly after the most amazing 30 minutes of my life so far I had to leave the tank, I didn’t want to get out! Just another 30 minutes please? And once out of the water the realisation of what I had just done came to me and it felt like a dream.

Still with the images in my head it does not feel real, it feels like a dreamt the whole event and that I was watching somebody else but this was the most amazing feeling I have ever had and I know I will remember this for the rest of my life.